TV Tuesday: Bringing the Laughs

[yourlibrarian]

It's been noticed that comedies tend to have fewer fanworks than other types of shows, even though they're usually very popular. Whether you enjoy fanworks yourself or not, which comedies would you recommend to someone else?

Comments

[author_by_night]

Schitt's Creek had a fairly large fandom for a while! Less so now, people have moved on, but that's exactly it, there was a main queer pairing. Otherwise, it really lacked a lot of the things that usually draws fannish types in. Don't get me wrong, it's a great show if you like sitcoms, but it's very much a sitcom (albeit a deeper one than some).

I also think that you're right about fantasy elements - fannish and media criticism types tend to be drawn more towards fantasy, sci fi and action. I've actually struggled with this a little, as despite being a very fannish and critical person, that's not generally what I'm drawn towards. So I want to be fannish and write fanfic, but the things I'm into... don't often open themselves to that, and the things people are talking/writing fic about, I'm not reading or watching.

ETA: Adding - or even if fannish types do watch comedies, often they're very very casual fans, and still more obsessive about other things. (And when I say casual fans, I don't mean that as a dig. I'm not a weird Reddit incel. But take Happy Endings - I liked it, but I didn't really want to read fic for it, or even think about it beyond whatever episode I watched that week. Versus Schitt's Creek, where it almost became my personality.)

Is Shameless a comedy? I'm not disagreeing, I actually haven't seen it, but I always assumed it was a drama, or at least a dramedy (kind of like The Good Place and Our Flag Means Death).